Current Physical Therapy Student With Questions

May 23rd, 2012, 12:03 AM

I am a current PT student who is looking into trying to get a commission to OCS. I was wondering if it would be possible to get it in my contract to be a Physical Therapist upon graduation if I were to begin my OCS before I graduate from PT school. Going at it the traditional method, I could still attend school and finish school while working on my OCS once a month on the weekend. I would like to get started on this as soon as possible and not have to wait until I graduate and get my licensure since I won't be through with OCS for a while after I graduate anyways. Is there anyone who could get me this information?

Officer Candidate School is designed to commission the Army's "basic" branches. These are divided into Combat Arms, Combat Support, and Combat Service Support. Typical examples of the 13 or so basic branches include Infantry, Military Police, and Quartermaster.

Physical Therapists are Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Officers. These "specialty" officers are commissioned not by a traditional commissioning source such as ROTC/OCS, but by virtue of their specific civilian education. (Lawyers and Chaplains are also examples of Specialty branch officers). Therefore, a Physical Therapist interested in pursuing an Army career does not need to attend OCS in order to obtain a commission. Of course, you need to graduate with your DPT prior to commissioning as a PT (In the Medical Specialist Corps specifically).

The final bit of information is that the Army National Guard does not have any Physical Therapist positions. Those are under the umbrella of the Army Reserve. Contact your Army Reserve AMEDD recruiter to learn more about the process.

So to recap, OCS is completely unnecessary for you, and you will have to look towards the Army, Navy or AF Reserve for commissioning opportunities.

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Just a final note on that; actually there are some PT slots (31 to be exact) across the United States. But as you might guess they are all filled. As White Phase stated the Reserves will probably be your best bet. Thanks White Phase you are spot on!

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Fmcityslicker, I actually have been doing AMEDD Specialty for a while, but just now got into the forums. I may have been a little lazy on this but decided it was time to jump in and help clear some things up. I also work the Chaplain Specialty Branch as well. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

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I stand corrected. I did not know we had 31 Physical Therapists within the National Guard. In my defense, according to our current national strength numbers they make up 0.008% or about 1 in every 12,000 soldiers serving in the National Guard. Just sayin!